Wedding towel under your feet: signs and customs [2019]

In this article: #1 History of the towel #2 Folk signs of the towel #3 Types of towels #4 Sizes of towels The main wedding attribute is the towel. The tradition of using white embroidered towels in a marriage ceremony has a very long history. First, let's translate this word. It comes from the root “rukh”, “rush”, “destroy” which means to tear, break. That is, it turns out that a towel is a torn piece of fabric.

History of the towel

The history of the emergence of towels goes back far into the past. Wedding towels first appeared at matchmaking, then the girl embroidered them with her own hands and gave them to him as a sign of consent to become a wife. In the old days, about forty towels were embroidered for one wedding. In Rus', towels were embroidered by girls from an early age, and then this towel became a wedding attribute. After the wedding, the groom's parents greeted the newlyweds with a towel. The towel decorated wedding carts; they were placed on the backs of horses, towels were tied instead of a harness and presented to the groom’s relatives. On the towel, parents presented the wedding loaf and icons with which they blessed the newlyweds. During the wedding, the priest tied the hands of the bride and groom with a “towel of union,” symbolizing mutual affection and unity. The newlyweds' joint first step had to take place on the towel, and the one who first steps on it is considered the head of the family.

How many towels do you need for a wedding?

According to ancient tradition, for a wedding you need to prepare not one towel, but several canvases. Sometimes their number could reach 40. During matchmaking, the bride gave the first towel to the matchmakers as a sign of consent to get married. It was the most beautiful and longest. The Slavs also used these embroidered fabrics to decorate wedding carts and the backs of horses.

Photo of a towel for a wedding

In addition, they were presented as a gift to the groom's family . The smallest number of canvases for a wedding is five: for feet, under a loaf, for tying hands, for an icon corner in the house and for a gift from the bride to the groom’s family.

Parents always bless the newlyweds, and for this purpose there is an icon on the towel.

In the old days, such fabric was embroidered by the mother and older relatives of the bride

In addition, you need a towel for a wedding loaf. A towel under a loaf serves as a symbol of happiness and a wish for an easy family life.

Do you know what a towel looks like for a wedding under your feet? During a wedding in the church, a white towel is placed under the feet of the newlyweds. The bride and groom seem to be standing on a cloud before God and making marital vows.

This canvas is considered the most important at a wedding. No inscriptions, flowers or rings are embroidered on it, so as not to interfere with the Lord from binding the young people in sacred marriage. During the ceremony, the priest ties the hands of the bride and groom together with as a sign of unity and fidelity.

Towel under your feet

He is perhaps the most important person at the wedding ceremony, because it is he who decides how the future life of the new family will turn out. In the registry office during the marriage process or in the church during the wedding, witnesses spread a “wedding” white towel on the floor in front of the newlyweds, on which they stood. The center of the cloth should remain white, thereby personifying the connection with the cosmos. The towel symbolized a white cloud on which the bride and groom seemed to ascend to the Kingdom of Heaven, where the Lord himself blessed their marriage and sealed it with the sacred bonds of marriage. Therefore, it is forbidden to embroider rings, flowers, the wish “For good luck!”, or two birds symbolizing the newlyweds on it, because when the bride and groom stand on such a towel, they will trample on everything good that could be in their family future. The best option for embroidery on a wedding towel is a floral ornament or a geometric pattern. If a girl decides to embroider a towel by hand, then under no circumstances should her mother or sister help her, otherwise her son-in-law will be turned away (discouraged).

Tips and tricks for use

And a few more rules for embroidering a wedding towel.

You should not throw away a towel from a loaf, nor should you give it as a gift. This can destroy family relationships and there will be no happiness in the family. The towel must be stored carefully (just as a couple treats their family).
The towel should not consist of several pieces (only a single piece).
It is forbidden to embroider horizontal lines above the top of the pattern - this provokes divorce and childlessness.
Always be hands-on before embroidering the fabric (needlewomen note that this eliminates negative thoughts).
Threads made of silk and wool are suitable for towels (only natural ones, it is better to avoid artificial ones).
Thursday is an ideal day for embroidery; it is better to do needlework in the morning. The front side and back should be the same, or the back should be neat. This will allow you to find harmony between the material and spiritual world.
There should be no patterns in the center (middle) of the towel: the priority is the space and emptiness of the “white sheet”.
You should embroider only those designs that the bride likes. If a particular pattern does not bring positive emotions, you should replace it with another.
A wedding towel is kept by a married couple all their lives and then passed on to their children, who use it at their wedding. This tradition inspires many brides to create towels with original hand embroidery.

The loaf on a beautiful towel becomes even tastier, and the impressions of the event remain only positive. And photographs from the scene of the event will give a sea of pleasant memories that the couple will keep in their memory for a long time.

Olesya Tregubova

Wedding planner, wedding blog author

What do wedding customs, traditions, rituals and their modern interpretations mean?

"Union" towel

The priest tied the hands of the newlyweds with this towel, as a symbol of the unity and affection of the bride and groom for each other; these towels bore the inscription “advice and love,” floral ornaments, doves, swans, rings that appeared only in the Soviet years, etc. A white or union towel embroidered with white threads - for a cloudless life, for joy - with red threads.

Choosing a towel in a store

Getting to know their types from numerous photos and following some tips will help you choose the right towel for your wedding:

Letters for a wedding - welcome, congratulatory or special words for a photo shoot + 69 photos
Chest for a wedding - 87 photo ideas for a stylish and harmonious element of marriage
Wedding inscriptions - symbolism and basic ideas for implementation + photos

Choose a whole canvas without lace, fringe or hemstitch.
Be careful, traditionally the length and width of a towel are divisible by the number 7.
Choose universal towels with a positive set of symbols: flowers, rings, cross.
Carefully examine the product for any cut or frayed edges.
Under no circumstances rent such a thing, since the towel is individual and is kept after the wedding for a lifetime.

An embroidered towel for a wedding is a traditional attribute in a marriage ceremony, which has a magical meaning due to the symbolic images embroidered on it.

Take your choice of a wedding towel seriously, because, according to popular belief, it determines the course of a happy family life.

“Hospitable” towel or towel under a loaf

It is the brightest of all and there are no restrictions for it. On such a towel lay a wedding loaf with which the parents greeted the young couple after the wedding ceremony. The towel on the sides was decorated with the image of a pair of birds looking at each other, symbolizing happy newlyweds, sincere and faithful to each other in their future family life, inscriptions of wishes, floral ornaments symbolized wishes for prosperity and well-being. And the inscription on the towel “Bread and Salt” symbolizes prosperity and harmony in their family.

The meaning of patterns

It is important to consider the meaning of patterns on fabric.

of a cuckoo and a nightingale as decoration They symbolize a single guy and an unmarried girl.
If the material depicts birds , for example, pigeons, then they should look at each other, and not in different directions. The swallow is a symbol of good news. The rooster is a sign of wealth. The image of a peacock is the key to family happiness. All birds on the product must be embroidered or embossed with lowered wings - a sign of readiness for marriage.
Drops of dew above the flower symbolize an addition to the family. As many droplets as there are, so many children will be born to a young couple.
Acorns and viburnum are a symbol of masculinity and femininity. The images are intertwined on the product, creating intricate patterns as a sign of the fidelity of the spouses.
The crown is a blessing from above. There should be no inscriptions or other ornaments above the image.
Hop leaves – love, youthful prowess and fun.
Oak – development and life.
Grapes – fertility and wealth.
Lily – purity and innocence.
The sun or octagonal star is a female symbol of procreation. Often, in a duet with this image, Water is embroidered in the form of a spiral. Both of these meanings suggest the beginning of something new.

“God’s” towel or towel “under icons”

For the bride and groom, the ornaments on the towels under the Holy Faces are different. The only common element is grape leaves with clusters, symbolizing prosperity in the house. On the groom's towel, acorns and oak leaves are embroidered, which represent masculine strength, and on the bride's towel, lilies and viburnum are embroidered, symbols of beauty and procreation, respectively. Be sure to say a prayer before embroidering ornaments: “Creator and Creator of all things, O God, the work of our hands, which we begin for Thy glory, hasten to correct with Thy blessing, and deliver us from all evil, for one is all-powerful and Lover of mankind.” At the end of the work: “Thou art the fulfillment of all good things, my Christ, fill my soul with joy and gladness and save me, for I alone am merciful, Lord, glory to Thee.” Please note that the ornament pattern is at an angle.

Sizes of towels

According to tradition, the size of a wedding towel is divided by 7 without a remainder. The length is divided into three equal parts and the middle, one third, must be left white. Nowadays, few people adhere to this rule and choose a white canvas 2 to 3 m long for towels “under the loaf” and “under the feet”. But in the center there must be an empty space for the bride and groom to step into, and plus the rule of the design quarters of the towel, so the length in width is from 45 to 50 cm. The width of the towel is determined by repeating the pattern, and the length is determined by the amount of embroidery (the free space in the middle should be enough for the feet of the newlyweds). The towel is hemmed by hand, grasping the base thread through the cross, so that a dotted line is created on the face only if a fabric without an edge is used for it. The hem depends on the fabric, for example, calico or linen is folded 0.5 cm 2 times. The design should be symmetrical and there should be no white border on the sides. The sizes of towels “for icons” and “union” are: length from 1.8 to 2 m, and the width of the towel depends on the pattern.

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WHERE TO BUY A RUSHNIK FOR A WEDDING? A towel is a must-have item at any wedding. In Rus', the wedding towel was embroidered by the brides themselves or the older women in the family - their mothers and grandmothers. Today, not every bride can embroider a towel with her own hands, and the modern rhythm of life is several times greater than the measured life of our ancestors, so many brides might like to embroider their own towel with a cross (patterns are not difficult to find), but do not have such an opportunity – they just don’t have the time. There is only one way out: buy a towel! The question “Where to buy a towel?” It may seem simple only to those who are just starting to prepare for the wedding. As practice shows, not every wedding salon offers a towel. What should modern brides do? You really shouldn’t be left without a towel at your own wedding? You can buy towels for a wedding on any day (including Saturday and Sunday) in the salon of wedding services and accessories “Everything for a Wedding” on Elektrozavodskaya (Bolshaya Semenovskaya St., 42, building 6 (entrance to the right of the House of Paints store) , 4th floor) . With us you will always find a wonderful assortment of towels. You can find out about the availability of a particular model by calling: (495) 508-56-34, .
In our salon you can always get a free consultation on traditional options for using a towel at a wedding, and attentive and professional salespeople will help you choose a towel specifically for your wedding or wedding, and, if necessary, recommend wedding candles, candles for the hearth, parental candles and more than 10,000 items of wedding accessories. A towel for a wedding is usually chosen by the parents of a young couple. Of course, you really want to do everything yourself and certainly so that everything is just perfect, but for some reason there is not enough time as always... Our advice: distribute the responsibilities for preparing for the wedding, rely on the taste of your parents and trust them with the acquisition of such an important attribute like a towel for a wedding. WEDDING RUSHNIKS. Description — Towel for an icon. On the towel for blessing the icon depicts the faces of saints or a temple. — A towel for a loaf is a very beautiful and significant attribute of a wedding ceremony. It is on it that the symbol of the well-being of your future family flaunts - a loaf. — Embroidered wedding towels (classic towel) are a classic of the genre. They are preferred by young people whose wedding is in the classic Russian style, and by those who will later use the towel, for example, to decorate icons in the house. You can also buy an embroidered towel in our “Everything for a Wedding” salon. — A towel for a wedding can be bought either separately or as a set. The wedding set includes: 2 towels and 2 napkins for wedding candles. — Modern towels - with rhinestones and bright printed patterns - also find their audience. Among the latest models, there are very economical options that are perfect for those couples who do not plan to use the towel after the wedding. You can check the availability of the towel model you like by calling: (495) 508-56-34, (495) 505-37-39 . FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS: — How can I use a towel after the wedding? — A towel will always find a worthy use in your home. Since ancient times, in Rus', a towel was used to decorate a red (beautiful) corner in the house. The corner with icons has always been considered the most beautiful, festive corner in the house. The icon shelf was decorated with flowers for the holiday, and on ordinary days there were always candles or a lamp there. Your wedding towel can also be used to decorate your home. Every day, looking at it, you will again and again remember the unique moments of your wedding. — What to do with wedding candles after the wedding ceremony? — This is one of the most common questions asked by couples preparing for the sacrament of wedding. Many people believe that wedding candles will only be used once, directly during the wedding process, but this is not so. It becomes a good tradition to light wedding candles on the anniversary of this memorable date. (We remind you that you can also buy wedding candles in our “Everything for a Wedding” salon on Elektrozavodskaya). — Can a registered legal entity purchase towels and wedding candles wholesale in the “Everything for a Wedding” salon? — Legal entities, if they have the appropriate documents, can purchase wedding candles and wedding towels in bulk. We will also offer you other wedding accessories at special wholesale prices. To do this, you need to send your offer to our email, and we will definitely contact you! In our salon you will find not only wedding towels and wedding candles, but also all the related accessories for your ideal wedding!